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Pakistan

A 29-day adventure by skip's retirement travel Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 27, 2025
    skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Lahore Fort

    September 27 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    I'm back on the road again, starting a tour in Pakistan.
    This post is of the Lahore Fort that dates back to before the Mughal Empire. It was used also by the Sikh and British Empires. It is located within the Walled City, Lahore's "Old Town."
    The 1st picture is the Alamgiri Gate. The 2 towers represent elephant legs, with the foot of the columns shaped like elephant feet.
    The 2nd photo is of the elephant stairs where the emperor would enter riding an elephant. The stairs are set to accommodate that.
    The 3rd is the Badshahi Mosque, located directly opposite the Alamgiri Gate.
    The fourth photo is known as the Picture Wall. This is an array of glazed tiles, mosaics and frescoes, showing court life, various animals and the like. Toward the far end above the array is the imperial bedroom.
    The 5th looks across the quadrangle to Naulakha, built by Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame). It was a personal space near the Sheesh Mahal. And for a Vermont connection: Rudyard Kipling named his Vermont house Naulakha to honor Jahan's building.
    The 6th picture looks across the public audience hall where everyday folks could be heard. Look closely to the center rear for the structure extending from the wall. This was where the ruler sat.
    The 7th picture looks across the Hazuri Bagh to the Baradari built to house the Koh-i-noor diamond.
    The next 2 pictures are in the Sheesh Majal or Palace of Mirrors. One shows a dining area with many reflective pieces. All the gems stones that were originally part of the walls are gone. The other is of the ceiling of the Shah's wife's personal space. I'm told she had a dream of floating under the stars. so that was built for her. Vit currently being restored.
    The 10 photo shows the Badshahi Mosque. The building in the foreground was built by the British for ammunition storage.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Rohtas Fort

    September 30 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Rohtas Fort is a UNESCO Heritage site dating to the 16th century. UNESCO calls it an "exceptional example of the Muslim military architecture of Central and South Asia."
    The 1st three pictures are the Shah Chandwali double gate. It is named for a man who worked on the gate but refused wages.
    The next 2 pictures are of some of the remains showing the multilevel construction of the citadel.
    The next 2 pictures are at the remains of the Haveli Raja Maan Singh, located on the highest point of the citadel. It includes a small remaining portion of the palace built for the Raja. The 2nd of these pictures looks out a window from the palace.
    Nearby is the one story Rani Mahal, or Queen's Palace in the next photo. It is thought to have been a 4 room palace, but only one room remains.
    Of the remaing pictures, all but the last one look at different portions of the fortress. Notice the structures at the top of the walls, called merlons, that were designed for muskets.
    The last picture is from the inside of another gate. You can get a sense of the detail work in sandstone that, along with brick, made up the structure of the fort.    Read more

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    Truck Painting, Rawalpindi

    October 1 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Ornately painted trucks are more than common here. You see them regularly on the road. Much of that painting happens here in Rawalpindi. The 1st picture is an example.
    This post is about a visit to one of the areas where trucks are painted (along with maintenance and repair work). The next 4 pictures give a sense of process, from stripping to bare metal, priming, preliminary design and a final paint job.
    The creative art isn't just about painting. The next picture is one of the more ornate "front bumpers" I've seen here.
    They even get creative with their doors. The next picture shows a carved wooden door for access to the truck cab.
    And the cabs themselves can be rather heavily decorated, as evidenced in the next picture. Yes, that really is the driver's seat in the foreground: a seriously personalized work space.
    Truck decoration is not only to paint. Stickers are individually cut to be added to the decor. The next picture is in a business the creates and cuts the stickers. And it doesn't end there. Pretty much any kind of trinket, tassel, fabric, bangle, you can imagine might be added as a finishing touch. The next picture is a shop with a small selection.
    The remaing pictures except the last one are several examples of these trucks. While the last photo looks like the others, it is actually a model kept at the site.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Rawalpindi

    October 1 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Rawalpindi is one of the larger cities in Pakistan. It was the capital of Pakistan until Islamabad was built and became the capital. They are so close that they are sometimes called "twin cities."
    This is a series of random photos to give a feel for the city    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Taxila

    October 2 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Taxila is thought to date back as much as 3,000 years. Its location on the upper reaches of the Indus River is strategically at the point where central Asia and the Indian subcontinent interact. It has been conquered and reconquered by a number of invaders, including Alexander Great.
    Taxila is a large area incorporating a number of important sites. Two of those have separate posts: Dharmarajika and Sirkap. This post looks at the Taxila Museum that documents the archaeology of the site.
    The 1st picture is of a 3D representation of Taxila and the surrounding area. The 2nd shows a couple mounted aerial photos. One is of Dharmarajika and the other is Sirkap.
    All of the rest consist of artifacts excavated here, most of which are Buddhist, Jain and Hindu. They date to as early as the 5th century BCE to as late as the 7th century CE. I'll point out a few things I find interesting.
    The 3rd photo is of pieces that depict the life of the Buddha. The 10th picture is a display of toys. The 11th includes an early still. And in the last picture in the left center is a set of ancient keys. I would like to see locks these work with, they are so unusual. All these are things I've not seen elsewhere.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Dharmarajika

    October 2 in Pakistan ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    The Dharmarajika site, which dates to the 3rd century BCE, has several parts. The largest is the worship area centered on the Dharmarajika Stupa. Next is the education area referred to by some as the earliest such place in South Asia. Finally, a couple monasteries were located here.
    Buddhists still come here regularly on pilgrimage. This stupa was built on relics of the Buddha, himself, including a tooth and some of his ashes .
    The 1st picture is of the stupa and some of the surrounding structures. The 2nd picture is the walkway around the stupa. The Stupa is to the right and private meditation rooms are to the left and extend all around.
    The 3rd and 4th pictures show the bases of devotional stupas built by grateful worshippers. This is adjacent to the ring of meditation rooms. The larger structure is of interest as there is a double headed eagle carved here.
    The 5th picture is of 2 trees: the closer is a banyan tree (the type Buddha is said to have meditated under); the other is called the Buddha tree, though I didn't learn why.
    The 6th picture is in the education area. The recessed area was a water reservoir surrounded by "classrooms" (see the next picture for an example) where teaching occurred.
    The next 2 pictures are of the surrounding areas that are unexcavated parts of the site.
    The pits in the 10th picture are where materials were mixed for worshippers to make idols. Next are a pair of baths for ritual cleansing, and the last is part of the remains of one of the monasteries.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Sirkap

    October 2 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The city of Sirkap dates to the 2nd century BCE and is a Greek city as evidenced by its layout (see the map in the 1st picture).
    The slightly elevated part of the 2nd picture is said to be the site of a Jain temple.
    The 3rd picture has its own identifier. I would love to know how the sundial worked!
    The 4th picture is of the royal palace, while the 5th is a residential area.
    The 6th picture is an unusual round stupa, thought to be one of the oldest. It is thought to have been lifted here by an earthquake and kept as the city developed around it.
    The 7th picture is of a Jain stupa, another thing I haven't seen.
    The last picture is the largest stupa base here and has unique cravings. There are corinthian columns carved with a Greek temple and Hindu motifs. And there is another example of a double headed eagle.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Naran

    October 2 in Pakistan ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Naran is a tourist town in the Kanghan Valley.
    The 1st picture looks at the town from my hotel and catches a bit of the ambiance of the valley. The 2nd picture is a different view of town.
    The next several pictures are of the downtown, and, yes, that's a real Dunkin Donuts.
    The last 2 pictures are of a small extension of the town going up one side of the valley.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Saif-Ul-Maluk National Park

    October 3 in Pakistan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    This is a park several hundred meters above Naran centered around the lake of the same name.
    The 1st picture is along the road up to the lake. The next 2 photos, also along the road, catch a stone house with a woman doing laundry. The terraces are across the road.
    The rest of the photos are at the lake. Not surprising that the mountains are spectacular. The lake is one of the highest alpine lakes in Pakistan. And yes, they do give boat rides.
    The last picture is of an interesting hillside. My 1st thought was that goats may have formed this, but I'm not so sure.    Read more

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    On the Road: Naran to Raikote Bridge

    October 4 in Pakistan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    This is a road day with a set of photos along the way. This gives a sense of what the part of Pakistan looks like.
    The last 2 pictures are taken at Babusar Top or Pass, at 4,173 meters.
    The scenery here is spectacular.Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Raikote Bridge to Fairy Meadows

    Oct 5–8 in Pakistan ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Set location
    This is a sojourn on one of the 10 most dangerous roads in the world. If there are roads more dangerous than this, I don't want to know about it.
    The trip starts by Jeep. Then we had to walk around a section where the road washed out. Then more Jeeps to the trail head for an 8 km hike up to the camp. Finally, there was the option to walk or ride a horse. I confess I rode.
    Hold your horses. The ride is as hairy as it looks.    Read more

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    Fairy Meadows

    October 6 in Pakistan ⋅ 🌫 1 °C

    These are the few photos I was able to get because shortly after this, the ceiling began to drop, we got fogged in, and snowed upon for a full day
    The mountain in the pictures is Nanga Parbat, the main mountain in this region.

    The 1st picture is when we arrived at the camp. The mountain is Nanga Pea at, aja Killer Mountain. It's never been climbed in winter.
    The 2nd and 3rd are a bit later and taken from the camp dining room. The 4th looks at the camp where we stayed. My room was in the building above the construction. The last photo is the morning we left and looks at the ridge across from the camp.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Tarishing

    October 8 in Pakistan ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Set location
    Tarishing is a small mountain town in the Pakistani Himalayas.
    Most of the photos show more of the beauty of these mountains.
    The 3rd, 4th and 5th pictures are of typical dwellings in this region. They show the setting, the structure and the kitchen where mountain chips were being made. These are French fries from mountain potatoes: a different taste that it thought better than the fries I'm used to.
    The last 2 pictures were taken from the roof of the house in the previous picture where we sampled both mountain chips and mountain tea made from a local herb our hosts collected just before making the tea.    Read more

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    Deosai National Park

    October 9 in Pakistan ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    Deosai National Park in the Western Himalayas has an average elevation over 4,000 meters and includes the second highest alpine plateau in the world. It has many unique high altitude wetlands and other rare habitats.
    The lake is called Sheosar Lake and is one of the highest alpine lakes in the world.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Skardu

    October 10 in Pakistan ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Skardu is a large tourist town that serves as a kickoff point for expeditions to many of the mountains, most notably K2. But there is more here than mountain climbing.
    The 1st three pictures are of Shigar Fort. The 2nd picture shows some nice wood carving in the structural elements and the 3rd is of the kitchen.
    The 4th and 5th pictures are of the Amburiq Mosque, dating back to the 14th Century. I've never seen a mosque like this with a wooden structure, a cupola like structure on top and a simple interior.
    The next picture is of a portion of the upstream feed to Blind Lake, so named because it has no outlet.
    The next 2 pictures of the Skardu (Katpana) Cold Desert. This is considered the highest cold desert in the world.
    The next picture is of a street in downtown Skardu. The mountains in the background give a small hint of what it's like to live in a town surrounded by majestic mountains.
    The next last picture is Satpara Lake. It's a dam enhanced natural lake that is a water supply for the Skardu valley.
    The last picture is Manthal Buddha Rock, dating to the 9th century. While heavily weathered and a bit defaced, Buddha can still be seen. There are also inscriptions below the Buddha figures that I couldn't pick up in a photo.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Salgirah Mubarak

    October 12 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    The title means Happy Birthday and refers to the 54th birthday of the 50th Ismaili Imam. Ismaili is a 3rd form of Islam after Sunni and Shia. This celebration takes place in Karimabad in the Hunza Valley, but is remembered by Ismail is worldwide.
    The celebration involves groups of all ages participating with traditional music and dancing. The day ends with fireworks. The pictures capture a bit of the event and energy.    Read more

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    Baltit Fort

    October 12 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Baltit Fort sits on a hilltop near Karimabad and dates to the 8th century CE. The current structure reflects alterations and additions over the centuries.
    The 1st picture is the gatehouse followed by the steep access way that ascends from the gate to the fort proper. The 3rd picture looks up at the side of the fort from the access way.
    The 4th picture is the reception area on the 1st floor. (Remember that the 1st floor is not the ground floor. It's one up.) The 5th picture is of some of the traditional garments that were used by the royal family. And the 6th picture is of a 150 year old rug. The 7th is in the Garrison's kitchen.
    The last pictures are in the 3rd floor. The 8th picture is in a room built by the British as a meeting space. The 9th is both a small kitchen for the royal family when they lived here and served as the winter bedroom. The 9th picture is a reception and party room. I like the effect of the stained glass windows when the sun shines directly through as it does here.
    The last photo is a bit of the view from the top showing also a guardhouse.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Hunza Valley

    October 12 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    The Hunza Valley is a rightfully well known mountain valley in the Pakistan portion of Kashmir at an elevation above 2,400 meters. The posts of Salgirah, Baltit Fort and Karakoram Highway are also in the Hunza Valley. Of all the mountain regions we've visited, this is the one I most enjoyed.
    The photos are all showing why the area is spectacular except the last which is a night scene of the main street in Karimabad.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Along the Karakoram highway

    October 13 in Pakistan ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    This is a series of pictures along the famous Karakoram Highway from Karimabad to Khunjerab Pass. This is the highest paved border crossing in the world at just under 4,700 meters.
    A few highlights:
    The 4th picture is Rakaposhi. at 7,788 meters it is the 27th highest mountain, and the summit is almost 6,000 meters above where I took the picture.
    The 9th picture is the Hussaini Bridge, which seems to be a suspension bridge to nowhere and is a tourist attraction. It seems typical of old pedestrian bridges here.
    The 10th picture is Lake Attabad. This lake was formed behind a large landslide and flooded the Karakoram Highway. The highway has been rebuilt with a series of tunnels higher up the side of the ridge.
    The 14th picture has yaks grazing on the hillside just below the border crossing.
    The last 2 pictures are at the border: the world's highest ATM, and the gate into China.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelPakistanskip's retirement travel

    Balochistan

    October 24 in Pakistan

    Balochistan is the province in the southwest of Pakistan, bordering both Afghanistan and Iran. This is generally known as a tribal area, often with conflicts, and is generally a no-go area for tourists.
    Because of the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the related border closure, we were unable to travel through Afghanistan. So, the only way to reach Iran was this route. It required a special permit and armed escort throughout. So, I only have limited pictures.
    There are some beautiful beaches that were empty.    Read more

    Trip end
    October 25, 2025
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